What is a sales process and how to create one?

What is a sales process?

A sales process is a series of steps required to complete a sale. It starts at the most preliminary stage of the sale, lead generation, and can go all the way to post-sale account management. We say “can” because all sales processes are tailored to each company.

This framework details how sales can convert leads into customers and build loyalty. For each phase, it explains the actions the rep must take and in what order, so that all of his actions are intentional and premeditated. 

Nothing harm a sale more than starting a conversation with the customer without having a direction. A well-designed sales process reduces the time you spend wondering about the next step, and frees up time to dedicate to other customers.

At the same time, a good sales process also captivates the customer, because it neutralizes objections before they are raised. Thanks to this, customers feel more secure with the prospect of doing business with you.

Without a sales process that all team members recognize, sales managers cannot communicate with reps. They also have difficulties in training new sales reps and increasing productivity and end up throwing down all aspirations of being able to measure, automate actions and have a scalable sales team. 

Example of a B2B sales process

1. Lead Generation and Prospecting
2. Discovery Call
3. Lead Qualification
4. Product or Service Presentation/Demonstration
5. Objection Handling
6. Closing the Sale
7. Onboarding
8. Business Expansion

Lead Generation 

This is the process of finding new leads to integrate into the sales funnel It involves all inbound marketing actions and also sales prospecting actions, such as LinkedIn searches, contacts from conferences or professional events, and contacts referred by other customers.

Discovery call 

This is the first contact between the rep and the potential customer. But before calling, the rep should know:

• What is the purpose of the call
• What questions to ask
• What objections to expect and have answers ready

During the call, the rep should be guided by the plan, but also let the conversation develop naturally. After the contact, it is useful to reflect on the conversation, perhaps talking to a colleague and getting feedback, and thinking about goals for the next contact.

Lead qualification

This process proposes some qualification criteria and questions to uncover the necessary information. In this way, reps will be better prepared for the first contacts and sure that they are chasing the right leads.

To qualify leads, they can ask questions like:

“What is your role within the company?”

“What do you do in your day-to-day?”

“What problem do you want to solve?”

“What other solutions are you evaluating?”

Thus, you can respond to some of the most common criteria:

Does this lead have the ideal customer profile?

Do you have the decision-making power for this purchase?

Do you have the necessary budget?

Presentation/demonstration of the product or service

This step is reserved for customers who are more advanced in the purchase journey. Presentations are tailored to the potential client, which involves a lot of time and resources – hence the importance of asking the right questions during previous contacts.

Handling objections

It is very common for objections or doubts to arise after the demonstration. Therefore, it makes sense to make this moment a specific step in the sales process. Throughout conversations, a sales rep must be able to identify and anticipate potential customer objections.

Closing the Sale

This is the step that all sales reps work towards. At this stage, it is usual to deal with contracts, proposals, budgets, getting decision-makers to approve the purchase, etc. To save closers time, this step should anticipate the necessary documentation as far as possible.

Onboarding

Work continues after the sale closes. This is the time when you implement the proposed solution on the client. Reps must ensure that they pass on the necessary information to the next team so that the customer continues to receive the level of service they are used to.

Expand the business

The final step involves all the initiatives account managers take to upsell and cross-sell. But not only. The business expansion also comes from super-satisfied customers who leave referrals for other potential customers.

How to create a sales process?

Now that you’ve seen an example, you’re better equipped to start creating a sales process that fits your organization.

• Process definition

Start by pointing out the relevant steps, including internal processes and customer interactions. Also, establish a leader for each step – the person capable of detailing the actions to be taken.

• Process mapping

With the support of the process leader, create an ordered list of processes and list all corresponding actions. Don’t forget to consider all the departments that are involved, such as the technical department or marketing.

• Process standardization

Describe in detail how to develop each activity:

• Charge: who will carry out the task?
• Action: How can you perform the task?
• Support material: documentation, systems, tools, tables, systems, etc.
• Deliverables: what is produced in this phase? Reports, proposals, budgets, etc.

 

• Definition of indicators

Make a survey of the indicators that will best represent the team’s performance. The sales manager’s role is to evaluate these indicators and determine the quality of execution, propose improvements and provide coaching based on individual results.

• Constantly Update

The purpose of having a sales process is to make sales more predictable, measurable, and scalable. To do this, you need to constantly innovate systems, adopt new productivity tools, add or remove steps, depending on feedback from reps and customers.

Finally, it is important to say that many companies make the mistake of thinking about the sales process from the perspective of the internal organization. On the contrary, the point of view you should follow is that of the customer, in order to be able to effectively accompany their purchase journey.

So when thinking about the sales process, answer the following questions: who is my customer? What are your pain points? For what benefits are they willing to pay? Does my value proposition meet the pain points?

At Digital Selling, we are prepared to help you design a sales process that will bring concrete results. Talk to us!